


One Thing Right

by deandratb



Series: What's Next [1]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, also mentions:, cj cregg toby ziegler matt santos bram howard andrea wyatt huck and molly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-03 14:23:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12750075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deandratb/pseuds/deandratb
Summary: Prompt fic; post-series fluff with a tiny nod to smut.He'd learned long ago to pick his battles, though, with two little girls who had inherited their mother's fighting spirit. When their favorite bedtime story became "the time Mommy blew up" he knew he was in for trouble.





	One Thing Right

**Author's Note:**

> For [live-in-to-the-answer](http://live-in-to-the-answer.tumblr.com/). Prompt: **domesticity with kids, but also some career stuff**

Fighting with his tie as he came downstairs, Josh found his daughters sprawled on the couch.

"Remember, Zoey's coming over to babysit today."

"Yes!" Jo high-fived her little sister, beaming at Josh. "She promised next time she was gonna teach us how to flip a grown man over our shoulder."

He paused on his way into the kitchen, turning slowly to face them. "Seriously? That's not just a funny joke you guys are practicing to scare your mom with?"

"Dad." Charlotte rolled her eyes at his lameness. "It's totally safe. She learned it from her bodyguards."

"That's what I'm afraid of." He'd learned long ago to pick his battles, though, with two little girls who had inherited their mother's fighting spirit. When their favorite bedtime story became "the time Mommy blew up" he knew he was in for trouble. 

Or maybe he'd already figured that out, the moment Brianna Joan first blinked up at him with her pale eyelashes and deep brown eyes. A world of trouble--realizing that he was a father now, that nothing would ever be the same.

"Mom," Jo yelled, making him wince at the assault on his eardrums. She had her mother's lungs. "You want us to be able to kick butt, right?"

Donna stood in the kitchen doorway, half-dressed for her morning meetings but still in her pajama shirt while she cooked. "I feel like that's a trick question," she answered, regarding the three of them. "Come eat your waffles, girls."

"What about me? Don't I get waffles?"

"That depends," she replied. "Are you going to be able to make our lunch date today?"

"Come on, it's not like I make a habit of missing--"

"The last three, Joshua," she argued, cutting him off. "You had to reschedule the last three."

He held up his hands in defense. "I know, I know. I'm sorry! I would've much rather met you for lunch than gotten stuck with lawyers from K Street."

"Yeah, well, CJ and I are meeting with senators today **and** the Belgian ambassador. If I can make lunch, so can you."

He crossed to the doorway and kissed her. "I'll be there."

"Good. Then you get waffles." She grinned at him when he leaned in for another kiss, and there was a chorus of booing from the kitchen table.

"Some of us are trying to eat," Charlotte said.

"Anyway," he told Donna, taking his seat and ignoring the peanut gallery, "I have a light day. Toby's coming in, so I cleared most of my morning."

"Well, that's something, then. He won't let you stand me up." Donna brought over the last of the waffles and finally dug into her own breakfast. "What's he up to?"

"He's bringing Huck by."

"Because fifteen-year-olds are really into campaign finance reform these days?"

Josh laughed. "No...apparently he told Andy that he's aiming to go to Harvard. Toby wants me to talk him out of it."

"Is Molly coming too?" Jo asked between bites. Toby's daughter was the softball-playing, video-game-killing hero of their twelve-year old tomboy. While Charlie was artistic, with her mom's dancer form, their eldest wouldn't be caught dead in a tutu or at the piano.

"Sorry, kiddo, just her brother."

No longer interested, Jo dropped her silverware onto her plate with a clatter. "Done. Thanks for breakfast, Mom."

Donna swallowed and nodded. "Dishes in the sink, Jo."

She was out and up the stairs before her sister had the chance to finish her own meal. Charlotte habitually moved at her own pace, daydreaming over her butter-drenched waffles as her parents talked around her.

"Which senators are you and CJ talking to today?"

"Texas and Arizona."

"Fun...and Belgium?"

"Clean energy."

"Right. How's that going?"

She dipped the last of her waffle in syrup, keeping one eye on the clock. "About as well as can be expected. Looking at European models has been helpful, but it's not like that gains us much traction in the South."

"Well, I'm not sure anything would," Josh pointed out. "They've dug their heels in pretty good against climate change."

"Yeah, no kidding.”

“Daddy?” Charlotte interjected. “Can I come with you to work?”

Donna raised her eyebrows at Josh, as surprised as he looked. 

“Don’t you want to stay here and play with Zoey?” 

“Not today...at school, they said Take Your Daughter to Work Day is next week.”

“Oh.” He stared blankly at Donna. Wasn’t that one of those made-up holidays, like the kind the President proclaimed that he used to mock? “Are you sure...I mean, wouldn’t you have more fun going with your mom?”

She beamed at Donna, all careless sweetness and light. “Nope. I wanna go with you. Can I?”

“Sure you can,” her mom answered. “Can’t she?”

Trapped, Josh tried not to panic at the idea of keeping his dreamy-eyed daughter entertained for an entire day full of politics. “Of course. Sounds great, honey.”

“Charlie, you've got ten more minutes until Zoey gets here," Donna pointed out, now that that was settled. "If you don't get going, Jo will have a head start at learning how to knock people unconscious."

"Oh!" Rushing through her second waffle, their blue-eyed sprite leapt out of her chair. Charlotte's pale ringlets bounced behind her as she ran back to the living room, forgetting to soak her dishes or properly be excused.

Donna sighed, and Josh smiled at her. Maybe manners were a work-in-progress, but just look at the beautiful little people they were raising.

“You know what this means, don’t you?”

She blinked. “What?”

“You’re gonna have to take Jo.”

“Good,” she replied, pointing her fork at him. “She’ll have a lot more fun with me than doing whatever Charlotte gets stuck with at your office.”

“Hey! My office is nonstop fun. Just last week, the President sent balloons to surprise Bram on his birthday.”

“Wow, balloons. I stand corrected.”

“I’m just saying, I can give our budding Warhol a painting app to play with and she'll sit in a corner all day. Meanwhile, you'll have a tiny lightning bolt on your hands while you talk to the Attorney General.”

"And I'm sure she'll enjoy our daughter's energy."

"There's about a fifty percent chance our daughter's energy will end up setting something on fire."

Donna took her plate to the sink. "She gets that from you."

He grinned. "Yeah, I know."

The door buzzed, and Donna went to answer it. Josh cleared the rest of the table while he listed to the clatter of feet racing back downstairs, and the commotion of the girls greeting their favorite sitter.

"You'll teach us the flip, right, Zoey?"

"I drew you a horse! Come see."

Donna's laugh carried to where he stood. "Girls, let her breathe."

Dishes soaking, he joined them in the living room. "Hey, Zoey. What's on today's agenda?"

"Oh, you know. Running with scissors, ice cream for lunch...the usual."

"Right." He smirked at President Bartlet's youngest, now a rising star at the NGO his wife was running with CJ. "Well, just try to keep them in one piece, would you? They've got delusions of badass."

"No delusions here," she argued, tossing her hair back. "They **are** badass."

"That, they get from me," Donna told him, grinning. "Thanks for this," she added in Zoey's direction. "I'll buy you lunch tomorrow after the conference."

"No worries. You know I love your baby feminists." Zoey wrapped an arm around Charlotte when the girl sidled up to her. "We'll have a blast. Go focus on your world leaders--and tell CJ I'll be in early tomorrow, 'kay?"

"Will do." Donna turned toward Josh as the girls led Zoey upstairs. "Josh, your tie is a mess."

"I wasn't fully awake yet," he protested, holding still as she leaned in to fix it.

"Yes, but you've been wearing a tie for decades," she pointed out. "Shouldn't you have the hang of it by now?"

"Why would I bother?" He asked with a smile. "If I could fix my own tie, you might stop doing it for me." Josh took her hands in his and kissed the fingers that had successfully tidied it up.

"I've gotta head out," he said reluctantly, catching a look at the clock behind her. "See you at lunch, Donnatella."

"You better." Her lips meeting his in farewell lingered just a little longer than necessary. 

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. Really. After all, I got waffles."

"Make it on time," Donna told him with a sly grin, "and you'll get something even better tonight."

His eyes widened. "I'll be early," Josh promised, kissing her again before he left.

She headed upstairs to finish getting ready, humming happily to herself. There was still only one way to render Josh Lyman speechless, and it was her favorite thing in the world. 

When he got a good look at the teddy and garters she'd picked up over the weekend, he was going to forget his own name.

Then he would make her forget hers.

**Author's Note:**

> Title borrowed from "Call It What You Want" by Taylor Swift.


End file.
